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Mitragyna Speciosa is found in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa. The African species are sometimes classed in a separate genus, Hallea are often found in swamps. Mitragyna Speciosa can be found in its indigenous locations (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, New Guinea, the Sunda isles,. It has all the same properties as opiates without containing the actual chemicals.

It was used as a cure all for various physical and mental ailments in Thailand.Thai labourers and farmers chewed on leaves to overcome effects of working under prolonged sun exposure. In the West, Dutch botanist Pieter Korthals in the early 19th century described its flowers as reminding him somewhat of a Bishop’s mitre so he named this tree Mitragyna. Yet, it is only within the past 15 years that Kratom has been used in the West.

Thai Kratom

Kratom is in the same family as the coffee tree, Rubiaceae. Known as biak biak, ketum (Malaysia), kakaum, kraton, ithang, and thom (Thailand), the leaves are widely chewed in countries where the tree grows naturally. Mitragyna Speciosa trees are evergreen and are extremely important to its natural environment , not only because they prevent erosion of the river banks where they are found. As such, it grows best in lots of sunlight and water, and requires very rich, fertile soil. It is drought sensitive, and if grown out of its native habitat, sensitive to frost. The tree reaches a height of 50ft, and spreads more than 15ft with a straight trunk.. The leaves grow opposite each other on the branch and are dark – light green with an ovate shape with a tapered end. The veins of the leaves range from white/green-veins to red-veins.The leaves shed and are continuously replaced throughout the year. The flowers are yellow and grow in clusters, and the seeds are winged. The Mitragyna Speciosa is most potent in late summer autumn and early winter when grown in its natural habitat.

Maeng Deng leaves have a very strong smell. Can be used as an aphrodisiac

Adulteration

Chemical analysis has shown that some kratom products are adulterated with other substances. In some cases the kratom has been “cut” with less expensive herbs to reduce the seller’s cost and increase profits. In some cases synthetic drugs have been added to enhance the effects. In some cases products kratom extract don’t contain any kratom. Disturbingly, some products labeled as kratom extracts have been found to contain the “designer drug” O-desmethyltramadol, which is a dangerously potent synthetic opioid drug. Sadly, products containing this compound have resulted in several deaths (first reported in Sweden).

Analysis has also found kratom laced with hydrocodone and morphine. Obviously, it is important to obtain kratom from a trustworthy source

Borneo Kratom

Chemical Properties differ according to the plant component, and area grown. They include:

In a study conducted by Takayama et al., 66.2% of the crude extract from the plants grown in Thailand was mitragynine, 6.6% was speciogynine, 0.8% was speciociliatine, 8.6%, was paynantheine, and 7-hydroxymitragynine was 2.0%. These five compounds were also found in the Malaysian plant, but at lower concentrations.

The latest research indicates that the main component of the herb, the alkaloid mitragynine, and its metabolite and oxidation product, 7-hydroxymitragynine, produce an effect on certain opioid receptors separate from many of the mechanisms that precipitate many opioid side effects.

In 1979, Thailand kratom came under the Addictive Substances Law, which placed in Category V. In Malaysia, mitragynine was listed in January 2003 as a psychotropic substance of the Poisons Act of 1952; however, planting the kratom tree is not considered an offense and local law enforcement have no authority to remove the trees. It is illegal in Australia, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Israel, Denmark, Myanmar, and South Korea. In Finland kratom is classified as a medicine that requires a prescription.

A low dose is 1 – 5gm of dried leaves, a moderate dose is 5 -15 gm, and 16+ gm is a high dose.

In 1966, bio-pirates Arnold H Beckett, and Macko Edward under Patent US 3256149 A on behalf of Smith Kline French Lab, U.S. have produced a crystalline alkaloid produced from the powdered leaves of Mitragyna speciosa using alcohol. The filtered acid solution is made basic with concentrated ammonia and extracted with ether to apply this concoction as an analgesic which happens to be more effective than codeine.

Indo Kratom

The juice has become established as an effective colon cleanser, also cleansing the liver, kidneys, spleen, and bladder. Also, Aloe barbadensis…

Analgesic – reduces pain

Anti-diabetic – lowers blood sugar

Antidiarrhoeal – Stems diarrhoea

Anti-Inflammatory – Reduces inflammation/swellings by helping the body to overcome the problem

Anti-leukemic– cytotoxic activity against leukemia

Anthelmintic – expels/destroys parasitic worms

Anti-mutagenic– Prevents cell mutation

Antioxidant -prevents oxidation of cells

Antiviral – especially in cases of malaria

Antitussive– relieves coughing

Aphrodisiac – promotes energy and duration

Hepatic – Strengthens and tones the liver. Increases secretions in the liver

Opiate Withdrawal/Addiction – the varieties: Borneo, Bali, Indo help with the transition from addiction to non-addiction

Green Malaysian

Fang Gong, Hai-peng Gu, Qi-tai Xu, and Wen-yi Kang of the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Henan University, China found strong anti-cancerous properties in M. speciosa as well as acting as a stimulant to glucose transport in muscle cells. In the African variety, M. inermis they found it induces and increases in coronary flow without inducing tachycardia.

Red Vein Kratom

West Africanspecies as M. inermis and M. stipulosa are traditionally used against malaria, the former and leukaemia. M. africanus, is used in Nigeria to treat mental illness, while M. ciliate/ledermanni and M. stipulosa /Hallea ciliata, is used to treat inflammation, hypertension, headache, rheumatism, gonorrhoea and broncho-pulmonary diseases.

In S.E. Asia traditionally native usually collect the fresh leaves and chew them in a quid to provide relief from fatigue and aid work ethic, much as coca leaves are consumed in the Andes of South America. An average dose for beginning to moderate kratom users is between three and ten fresh leaves, while experienced kratom chewers may take as many as 20 leaves at one time, 2-3 times daily. In the fresh preparation, the leaf vein is extracted, and salt is often added to prevent constipation. Users traditionally follow the chewing of fresh kratom leaves by partaking of a hot beverage such as warm water or coffee (Murple 2006). Other ways that people consume kratom include smoking the leaves, steeping them in a tea, or making a resin extraction of the foliage. In this preparation, kratom leaves are boiled down in a bit of water until the plant material has been reduced to a tar-like consistency; the resulting resin can then be shaped into balls and rolled in an edible material like flour for storage. Resin balls keep for several weeks, making this a very popular method of storing and consuming kratom.

Kratom leaves are often chewed fresh (usually after removing the stringy central vein). Dried leaves can also be chewed, but since they are a bit tough, most people prefer to crush them up or powder them so that they can be swallowed easily. Powdered kratom can be mixed with water and then drunk. This method is quick and easy. It can also be mixed with other liquids, such as fruit juice, milk, or kefir. Chocolate milk works especially well for masking the taste. Powdered kratom can also be made into a paste that can easily be swallowed with water. The powder can also be mixed with applesauce or yogurt. It can also be put into capsules. Dried kratom leaves are often made into a tea that is strained and then drunk. Kratom can be smoked, but doing so is impractical because the amount of leaf that constitutes a typical dose is too much to be smoked easily. A resin-like extract can be prepared by evaporating the water from kratom tea. This can be stored for later use. Small pellets of this extract can be swallowed, or it can be dissolved in hot water and consumed as a tea. Some people like to mix kratom tea with ordinary black tea, or other herbal teas, before it is consumed. This is done to make it more palatable. Sugar or honey can be added to sweeten it.

It is used in folk medicine as a stimulant (at low doses), sedative (at high doses), recreational drug, pain killer, medicine for diarrhoea, and treatment for opiate addiction. Many people report that kratom is an effective treatment for arthritis, restless legs syndrome (RLS), and fibromyalgia.

When kratom is taken by itself (without mixing it with other drugs), the greatest risk is falling asleep while engaged in hazardous activities.

Kratom Tea

This is another very common preparation method, both in the west and east. Learning how to make kratom tea is fairly simple:

Add water to pot (3-10 ounces)

Add desired kratom dose

Simmer for 15 – 45 minutes (20 minutes typically suffices)

Optional: strain powder

Tea is considered effective by many because of the quick onset of effects; however, by straining out the powder, one may lose the full alkaloid spectrum of the plain leaf, reducing some medicinal potentials.

Tea Tips

Adding water to kratom powder and freezing prior to making tea can increase the amount of alkaloids absorbed

Adding lemon juice, or small amounts of citric acid can also increase amount of alkaloids absorbed

One can salvage the strained powder from tea and reuse it to ensure no alkaloids are wasted

Contraindications

In Thailand addiction was equated with dependence, inability to quit using kratom and a strong desire for kratom when not using it. Withdrawal symptoms were cited by users as a physical pain in their back, legs, or muscles.

Long – term use side effects are anorexia, weight loss, insomnia, skin darkening, dry mouth, frequent urination, and constipation though this might be due to taking kratom as an extract or/and dried form.

…At the next meeting of the FDA’s Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee. If recent history is any indication, the outlook is not good—unless we push back. Action Alert!

The Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) advises the FDA in writing new rules regarding what supplements and drugs can be made individually for patients with specific needs by compounding pharmacies. It will meet for the fourth time, on March 8 and 9, to discuss whether to continue to allow a new group of supplements and drugs from being made for individuals. Here are some of the substances being considered:

Boswellia (Indian frankincense) is a tree resin that has been used for thousands of years to treat a variety of conditions, and recently has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. It also can be used to treat arthritis and osteoarthritis. Drug companies no doubt see this potent herb as a major threat to current or future drugs.

Aloe vera, 200:1 freeze dried. Aloe vera leaves have been used medicinally as far back as the 16th century BCE. It is widely used in natural and traditional medicine for a variety of conditions, treating everything from burns to constipation, psoriasis, and herpes simplex virus.

D-ribose is a natural ingredient for increasing energy (ATP) production. Evidence indicates that d-ribose can rejuvenate heart muscles after a heart attack or other cardiac events.

Chondroitin sulfate is a structural component of the cartilage in joints. It stimulates the production of cartilage, improves blood circulation to the joints, and is used to treat osteoarthritis, among other things.

These are, of course, supplements. As such they are commonly available. Yet the committee seems to think that everyday supplements should be banned from compounding. This is completely illogical. You can buy them in stores! Yet your doctor cannot include them in personalized medicine he prescribes?

Despite this crazy illogic, we doubt that any of these supplements will get a fair hearing. Last year, remember, PCAC voted to ban curcumin, which is widely used for its well-documented anti-inflammatory properties, among many other health benefits.

The elimination of supplements from compounding has far-reaching implications for natural medicine. Sometimes patients don’t even have the option of using any form other than the compounded one. Supplements are compounded for all types of patients—such as those with environmental sensitivities who cannot have supplements with preservatives, autistic children and other patients for whom swallowing pills is extremely difficult, or patients suffering from depression who rely on compounded amino acid solutions to manage their mood. All of these types of patients, and many more, will suffer if the PCAC continues to ban supplements from compounding.

The PCAC only makes recommendations to the FDA, but the committee has almost always followed the agency’s lead, or else the agency has arranged the verdict in advance—it is often hard to tell. We noted early last year that the PCAC seems to be a stacked deck, and developments have proved this observation correct. It has long been our suspicion that the end goal is to eliminate the compounding industry altogether, and this is a clever way to do it—whittle away what ingredients are allowed to be compounded, and it’s “death by a thousands cuts” for compounding pharmacies.

We must send a clear message to the PCAC to maintain patient access to compounded supplements—some of our most vulnerable patients rely on them!

Action Alert! Send a message to the PCAC urging them to approve the ingredients that have been nominated to the Bulk Ingredient List—and send a copy to Congress as well. Your legislators need to see what is happening to their compounding law! Please send your message immediately.

One way cancer develops in breast tissue is through the cancer-resistant protein (BCRP/ABCG2), but there is a way to effectively block this protein, both preventing and treating already existent cancer. Actually, just one food (actually, compound) which you might already eat (or drink) has the ability to inhibit that protein from being taken up by the body and spreading cancerous cells as a ‘side population.’ It’s called falcarinol, and it occurs naturally in carrots.

This is information someone named Ann Cameron already knows. She treated Stage 4 cancer with the use of carrots, and she did it without chemotherapy, radiation, or other drastic dietary changes.

She was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, and later a cancer that metastasized to her lungs. She refused chemotherapy, and her oncologist told her that radiation wouldn’t help. She then read copious amounts of information on natural “cures” for cancer. So knowing that her life expectancy was short according to her prognosis, she tried out some natural alternatives.

Cameron simply juiced 5 pounds of carrots a day, amounting to about a quart a day. After eight weeks, she returned to her doctor’s office for a checkup, and they were shocked.

They found no growth of the cancer, some shrinkage of the tumors, and fewer swollen lymph nodes. In just eight weeks, the growth of the tumors had stopped.

She continued to juice her carrots. By 6 months in, her tumors continued to shrink, no new tumors had developed, and she was almost cancer free. Four months later – there was no sign of cancer whatsoever.

Falcarinol is likely just one of the cancer-preventing/curing elements in carrots. Dr. Max Gerson was famous for using them in his natural therapies for treating cancer patients. Carrots are also high in free-radical reducing antioxidants and vitamin A, which assists in RNA synthesis while also stimulating thyroid and adrenal function.

You can juice your carrots if you have already been diagnosed with advanced stage cancer, or you can simply add them to different recipes if you want to be more proactive in preventing the disease.

Carrots are tasty in salads, gently blanched with cinnamon and butter, or even in muffins and baked goods. Look for smooth, firm roots, and bright green tops, and always buy organic.

Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna and former Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah on Friday urged Christian youth not to enlist in the Israeli military and to ignore Israeli “propaganda” encouraging them to do so.

The statement came after a meeting between the two religious figures on Friday, which followed reports on Tuesday that Israeli authorities would distribute military enlistment papers to Palestinian Christian youth who are citizens of Israel in order to encourage them to voluntarily sign up for military service.

The leaders called upon Christian youth who have received the enrolment papers to “tear them up and throw them away and not to engage with them in any way.”

The leaders also stressed the “firm national position of the Christians in refusing to join a military that exercises violence against the rights of the Palestinian people.”

The forms to be sent to Christian youth resemble the mandatory enlistment forms distributed to Jewish and Druze Israelis, and the army hopes that by sending these papers more youth will voluntarily sign up to enlist.

Although Christian Palestinian citizens of Israel are currently exempt from military service along with Muslims, a government decision made in February to re-classify Christians as a separate ethnicity distinct from “Arab” raised fears that mandatory enrolment would follow, as it did for Palestinians of the Druze religion in the 1950s.

About 10% of Palestinian citizens of Israel, also called “Arab-Israelis,” are Christians, while the majority of the remaining are Muslims and Druze.

Although the majority of Palestinians were expelled from their homes inside Israel during the 1948 conflict that led to the creation of the state of Israel, some managed to remain and their descendants today make up around 20% of Israel’s population.

There is nothing unusual about this, accept that in a nation that has removed that power, that self knowledge so that one becomes unaware of one’s own body, one’s own health needs, and one’s true physiological ecology, one becomes reliant on those who have disempowered you. Many of us will not see it like that until one realizes that the very conditions that one lives under is the reason for one’s state of dis-ease, physically, mentally, and spiritually. That may be the direct consequence of imposed lifestyle choices, or it may be the result of one’s reaction to what has become pervasive.

For the Sahrawi/Sahrauoi people, the years of self determination have been replaced by a struggle with the state, a struggle that many are now finding themselves engulfed in as the very props that have determined our lives fall away. For the Sahrawi/Sahrauoi, the struggle for independence up until a 1991 cease-fire with Morocco resulted in many fleeing to Algeria, to live in Polisaro Front-run refugee camps, Polisario Front being the rebel group that fought for the independence of their people.

Irish-born photographer Andrew McConnell captured many of the Sahrawi/Sahrauoi on film, like Djimi Elghalia Vice president of the Saharawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH), now aged 48:

Djimi Elghalia

“My family was among many who fled the climate and social conditions in Western Sahara to look for work in Morocco. A lot of Sahrawi/Sahrauoi used to stay at our home, and because of this, my grandmother was arrested in 1984. She was 60. We never saw her again. In 1986, I moved to El Aaiún for work. The next year, I was arrested along with 500 others for trying to organize a demonstration on independence. They interrogated me and used physical and psychological torture. They would put chemicals in my hair, which made me faint. I was electrocuted on the arms and back and was bitten by dogs. I was released in 1991 along with 324 people, some of whom had been held since the invasion.”

Dada Mohammed Kehel:

“I was born in Smara, [a refugee camp] in the occupied territory [of Western Sahara] in 1955. I remember the valleys and little houses. I felt free there; even the wind smelt of freedom. I used to go to school with Spanish children. The Spanish had everything: cars, diggers. They made roads. When they left, they buried the Sahrawi/Sahrauoi. We felt stabbed in the back. When Morocco invaded, I ran with my family. It was a surprise, because nobody had radios. Some fled on foot and others on camels, but many were caught. I spent a lot of time in the camps. I hated it there, I felt like a tourist of Algeria. So after the cease-fire, I moved to the liberated territory. We are free here and I love it, but there are difficulties.”

The Western Sahara desert or the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) may receive upto 4.5 cm of rain annually. If one knows how extreme the temperatures in the desert can get, then from 60˚C (150 ° F) to freezing at night does not sound unusual. SADR borders the North Atlantic Ocean between Mauritania and Morocco.

Not estranged from their environment like city dwellers, the Sahrawi/Sahrauoi depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. However, all trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Added to this insult, one that is familiar to a indigenous peoples, the Moroccan Government signed contracts in 2001 for oil to exploration off the coast of Western Sahara.

The Sahrawi/Sahrauoi are semi-nomadic and Berber. Their Arab inheritance can be traced back to the 15th Century when tribes migrated from Yemen across North Africa and settled in Western Sahara.

In SADR, there are four refugee camps on a desert plateau called Hamada, near the Algerian city of Tindouf. A population of 165,000 Sahrawi/Sahrauoi with 20 years of practice live in what has become well organized refugee camps of canvas tents and mud brick huts.

Democracy is innately a part of their culture in that no single tribe has power over others, and all are represented in an overall governing body. Peaceful solutions are friendly way or by compensation through Islamic law. However, intrinsic to Arabism is racism, so the darker skinned members are not treated the same.

Over the years, they have improved their quality of life by developing an informal economy that includes marketing of many products through trade routes with Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Algeria, and Spain. Some of those products are traditional ethnobiological, which have helped to maintain their medicinal traditions.

Acacia ehrenbergianaof the plant family Fabaceae are used to treat eye infections and conjunctivitis. The leaves are dried, powdered and triturated for wounds, and the resin known as el elk tamat is used for eye problems.

Anastatica hierochuntica of the Brassicaceae plant family is used in the treatment of vitiligo/white spots on the skin, mycotic skin infections, particularly the hands and nails. The aerial parts are dried, triturated, and boiled in water, and it is used as a topical application. When cooled and dried, the plant material is triturated and mixed with water to form a plaster for the treatment.

Argania spinosaof the Sapotaceae plant family is used to strengthen the hair and against aging. The bulez oil is extracted from the seeds and applied as a cream.

Balanites aegyptiaca of the Balanitaceae plant family is used as a mouth wash for the treatment of mouth and skin infections -mycosis, and spots. The fruit is roasted and peeled for its oil which is applied to the skin. The ashes from the burnt fruit are mixed with the oil and applied topically as a mouth wash, with the infusion of the peel and leaves.

Beta patellarisof the Chenopodiaceae plant family is used to treat otitis/ear infection in children by extracting the oil from the seeds.

Caylusea hexagyna of the Resedaceae plant family is used to perfume the hair, to treat lice, and as a dressing which stays on the hair for 24 hours to treat hair loss and to stimulate hair growth. Fresh aerial parts are pounded, to extract the juice, which is then mixed with oil/fat.

Commiphora africana of the Burseraceae plant family is used to clean the teeth, as an antiseptic for wounds and skin infections, and as a smudge for protection against the evil eye. The stems and resin are used triturated.

Mesembryanthemum cryptanthum of the Aizoaceae plant family is used as soap. The green aerial parts are pounded and then mixed with water.

Pergularia tomentosaof the Asclepiadaceae plant family is used in the treatment of snakebites, scorpion stings, and boils. The leaves are dried, triturated and mixed with water and applied topically. The resin is used to get rid of warts.

These are but a few of the natural remedies theSahrawi/Sahrauoi use. What do you have in your kitchen cupboard that is not irradiated, processed or modified genetically that has a medicinal function?

Sources:

Macdonald, K. “A Light on the People of Western Sahara.” lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/a-light-on-the-people-of-western-sahara/

Volpato, G., Kourková, P., Zelený, V., “Healing war wounds and perfuming exile: the use of vegetal, animal, and mineral products for perfumes, cosmetics, and skin healing among Sahrawi refugees of Western Sahara.” Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2012, 8:49 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-8-49

The Aloe barbadensis plant has been well used for centuries for health, medicinal and skin care. With some 240 species, the name Aloe Vera derives from the Arabic Fus-ha word “Alloeh” meaning “shining bitter substance,” while “vera” in Latin means “true.”

The Egyptians called Aloe “the plant of immortality.” The ancient Greeks regarded Aloe Vera as the universal panacea. Egyptian queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra used it as part of their regular beauty regimes. Alexander the Great, and Christopher Columbus used it to treat soldiers’ wounds

By the early 1800s, Aloe Vera was in use as a laxative in the United States, but a return to its true status occurred in the mid-1930s, when it was successfully used to treat chronic and severe radiation dermatitis.

Aloe Vera has many English local names including Barbados Aloe as indicated by the Latinized form barbadensis. It is also known as kumari (Bengali, Sanskrit), and Single Bible (Jamaica) for example.

Native to East and South Africa, Aloe b. this evergreen is a member of the Asphodelaceae (Liliaceae) family of the plant kingdom, thus is classified as a shrub.

As a perennial with strong, fibrous roots, the leaves we are all familiar with are fleshy extending from the upper part of the root. In remote areas of S.W. Africa and Natal, Aloes can grow as much as 30 to 60 feet in height, with stems 10 feet in circumference. Each leaf is composed of three layers:

1) An inner clear gel that contains 99% water

2) The middle layer of latex which is the bitter yellow sap and contains anthraquinones and glycosides.

3) The outer thick layer of 15–20 cells called as rind which has protective function and synthesizes carbohydrates and proteins.

When cut, an opaque cooling gel exudes.

The yellow tubular flowers appear as erect, terminal spikes, and divides into six narrow segments at the mouth and of a red/yellow/purplish colour. The capsules contain numerous angular seeds.

The true Aloe is in flower during the greater part of the year and is not to be confused with another plant, the Agave or American Aloe (Agave Americana).

The main commercial producers today are Africa, Australia, US, the Caribbean, Central America, China, India, South America, and the Asian tropics. Aloe vera leaf juice comes from the entire aloe vera leaf and grinding them up. Some commercial producers use enzymatic treatment is used (e.g. cellulase) to break down the rind and heavier-weight materials, and then the resulting slurry is filtered, usually with charcoal filtration, to remove any other unwanted materials such as the aloe latex (yellow, bitter tasting exudate that is a powerful laxative). The remainder is aloe vera leaf juice.Aloe vera inner leaf juice is made by removing the rind prior to processing, and then rinsing away the aloe latex. The remaining, gelatinous inner-leaf material is then ground/crushed into aloe vera inner leaf juice.

The issue with many skin care products that market Aloe Vera content, is even if there is, the content is too little to be of any real benefit to the extent that there is an International Aloe Science Council.

Chemical Properties differ according to the plant component, and area grown. They include:

5-P-coumaroylquinic acid

Aloe-emodin

Aloin

Apigenin

Caffeic acid

caffeoylshikimic acid

Chlorogenic acid

Coumaric acid

Ferulic acid

Feruloylquinic acid

glycosylchromone aloeresin B

Isoorientin

Isovitexin

Kaempferol

Luteolin

Lutonarin

Pectic acid

Quercetin

Saponarin

A research team from the University of Belgrade School of Medicine found Aloe-emodin slows down the process of skin cell proliferation that accompanies skin cancer with human skin after radiation treatment.

A research team from South Korea’s Gachon University of Medicine and Science found Aloe-emodin slows down the growth of human liver cancer cells. Aloe-emodin stimulated a genetic change within the cancerous cells that not only halted their expansion, but induced cell death of tumour cells.

In 1994, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Aloe Vera for the treatment of HIV as it stimulates the production of white blood cells.

In 2010, researchers from the China Medical University found Aloe stimulates the production of melanin and other protective factors that protect the skin from radiation and the progression of tumorous cells.

Aloin and emodin act as analgesics, antibacterials and antivirals.

The Anthraquinones in the latex acts as a potent laxative by increasing intestinal water content, stimulating mucus secretion and increasing intestinal peristalsis.

The Mucopolysaccharides help in binding moisture into the skin. Aloe stimulates fibroblast which produces the collagen and elastin fibers making the skin more elastic and less wrinkled. It also has cohesive effects on the superficial flaking epidermal cells by sticking them together, which softens the skin. The amino acids also soften hardened skin cells and zinc acts as an astringent to tighten pores.

The juice has become established as an effective colon cleanser, also cleansing the liver, kidneys, spleen, and bladder. Also, Aloe barbadensis is an…

Carminative – Promotes the discharge and flow of bile from the gall bladder into the small intestines helping to disinfect the bowels.

Chemoprotective – Protects healthy tissues in chemotherapy

Cicatrisant – Closes wounds and forms scar tissue

Cytophylactic – Increases leucocytes to fight infection

Cytoprotective – protects healthy cells against harmful agents

Depurative – purgative/purifying

Diaphoretic – Promotes perspiration

Diuretic – Increases the secretion and flow of urine

Emmenagogue – Stimulates the menstrual flow

Expectorant – Causes and eases the bring-up of phlegm/mucus/sputum from the respiratory tract

Febrifuge – Reduces temperature

Haemostatic – stops bleeding

Hepatic – Strengthens and tones the liver. Increases secretions in the liver.

Hypotensive – abnormally low blood pressure

Insecticide – Repels insects

Odontalgic – Strengthens the teeth

Orexigenic – Induces the desire to eat

Pectoral – Helps chest infections

Stomachic –Tones and cleans the stomach and improves the function of the digestive tract

Vulnerary – Prevents bleeding and cell degeneration

Vasodilator – Dilates the blood vessels

There are 8 known enzymesin Aloe barbadensis Bradykinase helps to reduce excessive inflammation when applied to the skin topically..

In Jamaica, the leaves have been used as a natural soap that lathers with salt water as well as fresh water. Aloe Vera is classified as bitters in Jamaica. All herbs that are classified as bitters have a bitter taste and have strong healing properties. As a health drink, the leaf’s gel is soaked in coconut water which is electrolytic. Aloe, b. is also used to return to balance the flora of the intestinal tract, for ulcers, colds and flu, ulcers, gastroenteritis, constipation, diarrhoea, and to improve the condition of the skin and hair.

In Ayurvedic medicine, Aloe, b. is used in the treatment of eye disease, tumours, enlarged spleen, liver complaints, nausea, bronchitis, and skin disease.

Nutritional Content

Includes:

Calcium

Choline

Chromium

Copper

B12

Folic acid

Magnesium

Manganese

Potassium

Selenium

Sodium

Vitamin A (beta-carotene)

Vitamin C

Vitamin E

Zinc

Contraindications

The commercial variety of Aloe barbadensis, has been known to cause reddening, burning, stinging, with allergic reactions in sensitive people to the anthraquinones content.

When I read about Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s herbal remedy for HIV-AIDS it brought a smile to my heart – one of hope in a world dominated by power hungry politicians and their network of self interests. Reinvoking the traditional African concept of a leader who is the servant of the people would come as a very bitter pill to swallow for most politicians today, including Jammeh himself. How many of our world leaders actually have any skills that can be of direct benefit to members of their civilian population! Too much for the likes of CNN which throws false hope over the idea, for if it is false hope, it is one that President Jammeh (Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh) will have to live down. This comes at a time, when the West’s focus on African health comes in the form of population control as a condition for trade, and ‘specialized’ medical technology to address problems such as HIV-AIDS.

It is not the first time that cure claims have emanated from the the continent that the bioweapon has been aimed against, the proponents of which have been silenced by the might of the Western pharmaceutical industry. But the Gambia is a country I recall with very little Western medicine on the shelves of their pharmacies, and only nature to turn to.

And so it is that since 2007, 68 people have been SUCCESSIVELY treated through President Jammeh’s Presidential Alternative Medical Treatment Programme demonstrating the might of nature over the pharmaceutical industry, which in some cases have proliferated the spread of HIV-AIDS as in the case of South Africa. Keeping the recipe secret – naturally, the 7th batch of sufferers of both HIV and AIDS were discharged over the weekend. It was marked by a ceremony held at the State House marking the 5th year (plus 8 months and two weeks) since the treatment began. At the ceremony Jammeh told the attendees:

President Jammeh, making the remedy himself

“The objective of my medication is to get rid of the virus that the patients are infected with and I have made it very clear since the start of my treatment programme. Five years ago, the West were saying that it would take twenty-five years to get a cure for HIV/AIDS but two years after I started the treatment, when we posted the results on the Internet, some people also claimed to have the cure for HIV/AIDS and their medicines also eliminate the virus from the patients’ body and today I have no doubt if I face any HIV/AIDS patient in critical condition, I can assure you that by the grace of Almighty Allah he would walk and go about his business as normal”As such, a long awaited initiative, which has been undertaken in such countries like India, is on the horizon for Gambians, the full integration of natural medicine in the countries health system.

“Because our salvation is when we go back to our natural pharmacists [forest], we will use western medicine as complementary to natural African medicine. In my treatment where my medicine cannot treat any disease, no western medicine can cure it,” Jammeh added.

“I am very grateful to the Almighty Allah and I am also grateful to the first batch of the treated HIV/AIDS patients because if they had not come forward and had listened to the prophets of doom, then the treatment wouldn’t have been possible because they were told a lot of things discouraging them from appearing on the television, which means they are committing suicide by coming to a treatment that they don’t know anything about.

Those who said that HIV/AIDS is not curable may be right because if you don’t know God and you believe that you descended from frog and you are not created by the Almighty Allah or you came to this world through evolution then you would not know that anything that happens in this world good or bad, Allah knows about it and has solutions about it. There is no disease that the Almighty Allah doesn’t know about and there is no disease without a cure.”

There goes African humor…

“Who am I to expect that everybody would praise me. But I thank Allah just as the Prophet Mohammad (SAW) prevailed and establish Islam which is the strongest religious today so have I also prevailed to cure HIV/AIDS to the point that 68 are being discharged today,” he added.

“This is the biggest jackpot we have ever won. As far as HIV is concerned, nobody can claim to know everything about it. The more you treat HIV/AIDS, the more you learn about it. I am not talking about those so-called professors who sit in the laboratory and call themselves HIV/AIDS experts when they don’t know anything about HIV/AIDS.

“It is sad that some of us Africans if God were to stand somewhere and call us to a meeting, some of us will still go and answer to the whites. What would I gain by claiming to do something which is so sensitive to humanity, painful to Africa for which every African today if you are going to the West they look at you and the first thing they think of, is whether you are HIV positive, such an insult to Africa”, he further stated.

Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Fatim Badjie

Jammeh admitted that the first and second batch was the most challenging

“We had a tough time with them. I used to spend 24hrs with them and some of them will even refuse to take medicine,” he said.

Jammeh thanked Allah, Gambians, non-Gambians and other institutions who have been sponsoring the treatment programme.

“May Allah reward you for your good deeds. It would have been very difficult to have the huge number of treated patients with different diseases without your support and I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who have come to attend especially those who went through the treatment program.”

Of those discharged Alhaji Beyai informed the gathering

“I want to tell you [the gathering] that the President’s treatment programme has efficacy in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. This is what I want to assure everybody and to ascertain that the treatment is effective and I would like to urge all and everyone present here, within and outside The Gambia who are not sure of their HIV/AIDS status to please come and join the president’s treatment programme.”

The World Health Organisation and the United Nations response has been of course one with alarm especially as patients are required to stop taking their anti-retroviral drugs, which according to them makes the patients prone to infection. However, fortunately, Jammeh is a notorious chaaracter, which in this sense, refuses to back down on a treatment that is offered free of charge, to greater dismay of pharmaceutical giants.

“As far as HIV is concerned, nobody can claim to know everything about it. The more you treat HIV/AIDS, the more you learn about it. I am not talking about those so-called professors who sit in the laboratory and call themselves HIV/AIDS experts when they don’t know anything about HIV/Aids.”

What can be said about the herbal remedy is that several herbal creams are applied and consumed over a number of weeks, along with prayers from the Holy Qur’an. If anyone knows about the healing energy of sound in meditation, then it will come across less like African witchcraft and more like using healing energy or Vibrational Medicine as it was once called. To assist the process, patients have to stop taking alcohol, tea, coffee, and haram activities that lower the vibration like sex, and theft.

Stereotypes

But the stereotypes of Africans still persists, as reflected by global governance media, CNN’s coverage.

“… a 3-year-old AIDS patient named Suleiman receives his daily dose of medication — a murky brown concoction of seven herbs and spices served out of a bottle that once contained pancake syrup.”

What is the color of health? It beats what they put in our vaccines, and then make it a criminal offense not to take it! Yet, CNN could not ignore Fatuma, the mother’s response who has also been taking the treatment:

It’s amazing,”

“Two weeks ago, I was very ill, weak and couldn’t eat without vomiting.”

CNN repeatedely uses the word “concoction” as in a witch’s brew in reference to the herbal remedy, and try to disqualify the results by referring to the UN envoy Fadzai Gwaradzimba, who was rightly kicked out of the country in February 2012 by demanding that patients should continue their UN recognized treatment and that the concoction should be “assessed by an international team of experts.”

Modern medicine despite all its innovations, is dependent on natural resources to develop their medicines. All around the world, herbal medicine was the first form of medicine, and when all esle fails remains to provide solutions. In recent years, countries like the U.K. and Australia have attempted to make forms of natural medicine illegal, especially forms of Traditional Cinese medicine, and homeopathy, because these forms cannot be patented and therefore profited from or controled! They put good health back in the hands of the people!

Ousman Sow, 54, said he’s been HIV-positive since 1996 and had been taking anti-retrovirals for the past fours years until he volunteered for this program.

Four weeks later, he said he’s gained 30 pounds and feels like a new person.

“I am cured at this moment,” he said.

Asked if he had any HIV symptoms, he responded, “No, I don’t. As I stand before you I can honestly tell you I have ceased to have any HIV symptoms.”

Patient after patient gave similar statements to CNN. But it was difficult to verify the authenticity of their testimony. The government claims to have scientific evidence, but it did not provide any to CNN.

Jammeh refused to speak to CNN for this report.

That is not surprising. The only thing to prove is the correctness of what one does to one’s self and to those one claims responsibility for, not to the likes of those who will do anything to disqualify one’s good deeds to those who do not at the heart of it have good intentions.

In the tiny African country of the Gambia with one hospital the Presidential Alternative Medical Treatment Programme has also treated infertility according to one of the physicians Dr. Mbowe as well as diabetes, and hypertension. Nature always provides us with hope even when we mess up badly as we have done in all spheres of life.

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Quote…

Peace be upon you and peace be upon us.
May You be in peace and may we be in peace.
Peace be upon those who returned the greeting and even upon those who did not.
Peace, in the name of the lord of peace, the lord of mankind, the god of eternity.
Peace in which we prospered.
Peace mixed with the earth of this country.
Peace in which we no longer live.
Peace which no longer lives in us.
Peace we keep an eye on while it packs its bags.
To abandon our lands, little by little.
And it is replaced by surrender and submission to an islamisation in which there is no islam.
As if the islam of our grandparents no longer had anything to do with us.
Do you know why peace is abandoning us?
Do you know why darkness is all around us?
To put it simply, because we are a society that fears.
We are a society afraid of difference.
My words will not please some of you, or most of you, or all of you - i know.
But i will say them because i refuse to be one of the herd.
We are a society which refuses to admit that it is a society that lives in ignorance.
We are a society that shots with all audacity and pretends that it carries a different message.
We are a society that loves to claim superiority without having a valid reason.
And pretends that it is an educated society. It is sickening!
Among us, the acceptance of difference is nothing but a cover.
The difference in colour does us harm.
The difference in shape does us harm.
The difference in thinking does us harm.
The difference in religion does us harm.
Even the difference in gender does us harm.
That is why we try to kill any difference in our midst.
We have turned into a lethal poison for each other.
We are a society more stupid than stupidity itself.
Yes, we are a society more stupid that stupidity itself.
We fight over silly things, over delusions, over superstitions
While always refusing to look into the root of the problem.
And none of us is innocent of that. No!
No citizens nor politicians.
No those who find comfort in silence.
Nor those who pretend to be saints.
Nor those who follow the west blindly.
Nor those who pretend to go back to the glory of the caliphate and the slave markets.
And to the amputation of the limbs of those who differ.
Today, let us try to look inside ourselves
Inside the depth of our souls.
Let us try to embrace our souls.
Let us try to embrace our differences with our souls.
Here i am, before you, with my colour, with my hair, with my poetry, with my peculiarities, with my ideas.
I am not afraid of you.
I don’t fear that you’re different from me because i am part of you and you are part of me.
Let us create art. Let us grasp the dream.
So we can erect a culture without stupidity,
So our sophistication becomes the best of caliphates.
Let us melt away the traditions, the classes, the types, the ideas, the colours and the religions.
So we see nothing except the human being.

Dance of the Heart

Rejuvenate your Life with Aloe Vera

The pain you create now is always some form of non acceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is.

On the level of thought, the resistance is some form of judgement.

On the emotional level, it is some form of negativity.

The intensity of the pain depends on the degree of resistance to the present moment , and this in turn depends on how strongly you are identified with your mind.

The mind always seeks to deny the Now and to escape from it.

In other words, the more you are identified with your mind, the more you suffer.
Or you may put it like this the more you are able to honour and accept the Now,the more you are free of pain, of suffering and free of egoic mind.

Why does the mind habitually deny or resist the NOW?

Because it cannot function and remain in control without time,which is past and future,so it perceives the timeless Now as threatening.

Time and mind are infact inseparable .

Sunday Wire

Reader’s Reflections…

From Robert on San Francisco Judges Dismiss 66,000 Arrest Warrants against the Homeless*

Living on the streets cuts an average of 25 years from a person's life and degrades the quality of life for everyone. Another feature of the homeless population in San Francisco is that many of these people are simply too ill to care for themselves. We're almost half a century into the failure of the social experiment that closed the State Hospitals and no closer to ending the experiment now than when our media first noticed the experiment had failed in the 1980's.

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From Chatty on One Corrupt President Ousted*
What do you know, a democratic breath of fresh air SOMEWHERE in the world...amazing. I'm glad the people's voices were heard and the police did their jobs. Fantastic, and I hope South Korea can heal from this and get good leadership.

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From Joann on One Corrupt President Ousted*

Such a sorry business, sorry for the South Korean people, and sorry for former President Park Geun-hye (so foolish and weak). But I am very glad truth was revealed, and we may hope for fair punishment, and perhaps rehabilitation, involving prison time. This needs to become a world-wide trend.

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From Necltr on World Bank Declares itself Above the Law*
World Bank, World Loan Shark, to use selected politicians and troops to take over every nation and all of humanity

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From TheChattyIntrovert on India’s Cashless Villages not Really There Yet, But the Nightmare Has Begun*

I'm too paranoid to believe in a cashless society myself--too much identity theft here in the states, and too damned easy when everything's done electronically.

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From Mark on Jury Refuses to Convict Activist for Shutting Down Pipeline*

This is why the ruling elite have nearly eliminated jury trials.
If you didn’t know that your democratic rights to trials by jury had been eliminated for everything but felony charges, see http://americanjurypower.org/home/no_right.php and don’t miss the supreme court case at the link in that article in which 5 so-called conservative, strict constructionist justices found an invisible word in 2 clauses in that quaint old constitution in the ruling elite’s latest effort to convert a justice system designed to be controlled by the people into one controlled by the ruling elite.

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From N on Scientists Find Fluoride Causes Hypothyroidism Leading To Depression, Weight Gain, and Worse…*
For ambitious global tyrants, fluoridation is part of a win-win-win-... program; for at least 6.5 billion people it is lose-lose-lose... Lose mental capacity of ourselves and children, lose length of life, lose, free will ... For the Globalists, win a servile, depopulated humanity with no ability to know what is happening to them, let alone a capacity to solve their problems.

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From M… on New Report Exposes Rockefeller Dynasty’s Role in “Climate” Scam*
John D., Sr. had a brother, William Avery, with whom he founded Standard Oil and worked until William's death. The families still work cooperatively, like the Rothschilds, but in a smaller way. When you think of petroleum and banking in this country, think Rockefeller. Their man Nixon took us off the gold standard and prevented the silver certificate, replacing precious metals with the petrodollar. Think of global power possibilities with a monopoly of that liquid black gold, especially when accompanied with the fiction of supply limitation held for many decades.

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From Neben on The Taino of the Caribbean: the People Who Do Not Exist

I am Taino and Caiqueto, living in Georgia. We must unite here in the continental U.S.

My family are indigenous to "Hispaniola", "Puerto Rico", Aruba and Curacao. I have family members in Florida, New York, and other states.

We do and have always existed. These settlers and colonists need to be told our lives matter.

Even if our African brothers and sisters were brought here, or even travelled here on their own (many did), they became us. Not we became them. When you immigrate you assume the tribal identities and customs of the host nation. These colonialists know this so they lie and say our people no longer exist, and/or say that only mixed people and descendants of black slaves exist in the Caribbean. These are all lies. They have brainwashed people into voiding our birthright and inheritance!!!!

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From Chief Pedro Guanikeyu Torres on The Taino of the Caribbean: the People Who Do Not Exist

I find this blog article most interesting and it made me smile at the same time to see an old letter that my tribal council and I had published in Puerto Rico some 46 years ago and addressed to the Puerto Rican people as it make me feel really old today at 65 year of age today. Respectfully yours, Chief Pedro Guanikeyu Torres, Jatibonicu Taino People of Boriken (Puerto Rico) Tribal Government of the Jatibonicu Taino People of Puerto Rico

Moral Tales

“To be in ‘Islam’ is to be in that state of willingness to surrender, to let go of anything. It is the beginning of the awakening of intelligence . If you’re willing to let go of everything, whatever anxieties, fears, expectations , or desires you have, then your energy is available. Your intelligence sharper. Your actions more successful because you can see whether they relate or not.” – Sheikh Fadhlalla Haeri

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Community Notice Board

The topocentric New Moon Conjunction for the lunar month of Sha'aban will occur on Wednesday, the 26th of March 2017, at 22:32 AEST (10:32pm Sydney time).

The correct date to observe the crescent of Sha'aban is upon sunset of Thursday, the 27th of April 2017.

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A Sacred Conversation
Tasting the Sweetness of Prayer and Worship by Unraveling the Secrets Within. Practical steps in improving Khushu’ (Inner Concentration) in Salah and other forms of Worship in Everyday Life.
The greatest month descends upon us very soon, the light of Ramadan is fast appearing! Ustadha YASMIN MOGAHED (USA) delivers this FULL DAY Course for the 1st time ever highlighting and demonstrating Key Practical Steps in improving one’s daily relationship with Allah.
The course will cover:
Life’s Forgotten Purpose: Prayer
Practical Steps in Improving One’s Salah and Khushu (concentration)
Worshipping Allah in Every Day Life
Why are my prayers (Dua) not answered? Steps in getting Duas answered.
Following faith in testing modern times, steps in upholding identity.
Developing a sacred relationship with Allah
Searching for God in Everyday Life
SPECIAL FEATURE FOR THE 1ST TIME:
Exclusive Launch and Live Interview based on Yasmin Mogahed’s NEW Book: Love and Happiness. Purchase the copy & have it signed on the day!
Open Q&A Session
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Price: Early Bird discount: £30

Price after 5th May 2017: £35
Date: Sunday 21st May 2017
Time: 10:30am-6:30pm (Doors open from 9:30pm)
Venue: London Muslim Centre (Full details upon registration)
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The Radical Middle Way
{Surely they who divided their religion into parts and became sects, you have no concern with them; their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they did” – An.Anam 6:159).